Iron Rose
by XxFearTheFluffxX
Summary: When Sonic disappears without a trace, his friends are left to watch the world fall down around them. Seven years later, and the Earth is a very different place. Eggman rules the planet with an iron fist, while Amy and Tails shoulder the burden of keeping the last pocket of resistance alive. Food is scarce, morale is low, and while Amy grapples with... (FULL SUMMARY INSIDE)
1. Prologue: The Fall

**Full Summary: _When Sonic disappears without a trace, his friends are left to watch the world fall down around them. Seven years later, and the Earth is a very different place. Eggman rules the planet with an iron fist, while Amy and Tails shoulder the burden of keeping the last pocket of resistance alive. Food is scarce, morale is low, and while Amy grapples with the hopelessness of the situation, a certain hedgehog makes his miraculous return – seven years too late._**

"_**You're like iron. You'll break before you bend."**_

**Rating: T, just to be on the safe side. Nothing too bad, but dark themes and possible violence may ensue.**

-X-

"_Well, well, well... Sonic." Eggman grinned. It wasn't a pleasant expression. "You know, I can hardly believe that worked. Something on your mind hedgehog?"_

_Through what he calculated to be a clear foot of reinforced glass, Sonic scowled. He couldn't **believe** he'd been so stupid. As if anyone – the Doctor especially – would leave a Chaos Emerald just lying around like that. He should have smelled the trap the second he walked in the room. But he'd been so distracted..._

"_Now – what to do with you?" Dr Eggman began to pace, bald head bent low, hands clasped neatly behind his back. "I so rarely have you at my mercy like this that I find myself rather... under-prepared." _

_Sonic said nothing. _

_All this posturing was purely theatrical, obviously. The blue blur knew better by now than to doubt Eggman was already three steps ahead. The Doctor knew **exactly**_ _what he was going to do with him, and the sooner he made his next move, the sooner Sonic could figure out how to fight back. He couldn't break through the glass as was – it was too thick, and he didn't have enough room to build up momentum – but when the opportunity presented itself, he'd make his escape. It was just a waiting game, that's all._

"_I bet I know what you're thinking," Eggman said suddenly, pressing his smug face in close to the glass. "You're thinking 'I'll wait for him to make a mistake, then I'll make a run for it'. Well I've got news for you this time rodent." He spun with dramatic flourish, presenting a small gadget for Sonic's inspection. "This time, there will be no mistakes."_

_The gadget was a remote control – compact, innocuous looking, with only two buttons... But for some reason he couldn't explain, Sonic's stomach dropped like a lead ball at the sight of it._

_He pressed his hands against the inside of the tube, as if he could somehow phase through the barrier by sheer force of will. His heart was beating so hard he could feel the pulse in his fingertips._

"_What's that?" he asked, though he dreaded the answer._

"_Wouldn't you like to know?" Eggman smirked. He pressed a button with his thumb, the action as perfect as if he'd been practising it all day – which, knowing his nemesis like he did, Sonic thought he probably had. A hissing noise reached the blue blur's ears and with the suddenness of being dunked in icy water, the temperature in the tube plummeted._

_A glance up confirmed what he'd already suspected. Gas; being pumped in through the air filtration system._

_Shivering, Sonic groaned through chattering teeth, "Wh-Wh-What a-are you d-d-doing?"_

_He fell to his knees, exhausted past the point of standing even though it had been mere seconds since Eggman pressed the button. Head too heavy to hold, he was reduced to staring blearily at his gloved fists, though his warrior's sense dictated he should keep his eyes on the enemy. He didn't have long – already he could feel the gas working through his body, depositing him into unconsciousness... Or worse. _

"_Nighty night, hedgehog." Gone was Eggman's jovial mood, replaced by something colder even than the energy-sapping gas. Clearly, the gloves were off. "I win."_

_Sonic fought it for as long as he could, but it was a losing battle. _

_His final thoughts were for his friends, the friends he might never see again. **Tails... Knuckles...**_

_Ultimately, the last of his strength deserted him and he fell flat on his stomach. His eyes closed, and before he surrendered to the inevitable the events that had led him to his own demise flashed through a mind sluggish with sedative._

_**...Am...my... I'm... so...rry...**_

-X-

Sonic's disappearance was as sudden and catastrophic as no one could ever have guessed it would be. In those first harsh weeks his friends searched high and low for the missing hedgehog, impeded at every turn by Dr Eggman, who – without his arch-enemy to oppose him – thrived, growing stronger and stronger with each passing day.

By the time a year had passed, Eggman had most of the Western continents under his control. Within two, the entire world was his playground. And by seven...

By seven, all hope was lost.

The friends he'd left behind had given him up for dead, and what little humanity there was left either bowed to Eggman's new world order, or lived deep underground – the _resistance_, in name alone.

Those who cared to remember 'the end of the world' all said the same thing:

Freedom died with Sonic the Hedgehog.

-X-

**At last – a brand new story. And this one is set to be my best work yet. So if you got this far be sure to put it on alerts – I promise you won't be disappointed!**

**I know this chapter will be confusing, but don't worry. I have everything figured out, and all of your questions will be answered as we go. Updates should be regular – at least once every two weeks – but if they slow down for any reason it'll be because I'm working on something _big_. In that instance, I daresay your patience will be well rewarded.**

**Thanks for reading, and like I said – alert, favourite and (if you're feeling generous) review.**

-X-


	2. What Became

There wasn't enough.

It was something Amy Rose had known all along, since the very first day the Resistance set up shop. There wasn't enough _anything_. Not enough space, not enough medicine, not even enough _food_... There just wasn't enough to sustain their slowly growing population, and somehow, it fell to _her_ to fix it.

The sun crept over the horizon, and Amy – watching it from the twisted branches of a long dead tree – wondered how she was going to provide for the hundreds of people relying on her again today. It had been her first thought yesterday, and the day before that, and again the day before that. It was her first thought every day, and had been for a long time.

As usual, whatever she did wouldn't be enough either.

The Resistance... they called themselves that, but it was something of a bitter joke these days. They weren't _resisting_ at all – they were surviving. And barely at that. It was impossible to keep so many people alive all in one place. Already thirty-six had died this year of starvation alone. Amy couldn't even bear to count how many had died of sickness, and refused outright to consider the numbers they'd lost to Eggman. It was a lost cause.

So why did she stick around?

"It's your fault," she told herself sternly, voice low. Yet another part of her morning routine. "It's your fault they have to live like this. It's your responsibility."

_It's __**your**__ fault Sonic is dead. Yours,_ she finished in her mind.

She never said that last part aloud. In the seven years since his disappearance, Amy hadn't been able to bring herself to speak Sonic's name even once. She would sullenly storm out of a room if someone else mentioned him, which admittedly, wasn't often nowadays. "He's dead," she'd say, when anyone asked. "I won't live in the past any more."

A noise from below drew her attention and, with a sigh that was part acceptance and part regret, Amy jumped from her perch to land at the mouth of a crudely hewn tunnel, partially hidden by the tree's emaciated roots. A familiar furry head poked up through the hole and turned to greet her with a smile that – as ever – never reached his eyes.

"Up early as usual, I see," Tails said, heaving himself up to join her on the surface. "Do you even sleep at all?"

Amy regarded him with the same hooded expression she wore every time she looked at him, gaze grazing briefly over his right arm before snapping deliberately back to his face.

When Sonic went missing all those years ago, Eggman's first move had been to round up the hedgehog's friends under the pretence of searching for the Chaos Emeralds. Busy looking for their lost comrade, most of them hadn't realised what was going on until it was too late. For whatever reason, Amy had been one of the last to be taken.

Tails on the other hand, had been one of the first.

She'd never had the guts to ask _exactly_ what Eggman had done to him – what she'd been able to hear while imprisoned on the Egg Carrier was enough to convince her she didn't want to know – but whatever it was had cost the fox an arm. When they'd finally escaped and joined up with the Resistance, he'd been able to coordinate the making of a mechanical prosthetic, but Amy still couldn't look at him without feeling intense grief.

Tails' suffering too was her fault, even if only indirectly.

"I sleep," she said honestly. "But I like the sunrise."

"Mmm, me too." The fox looked eastward, admiring the dawn with a forlornness that made Amy's chest ache. "It's a shame I don't get to see it too often."

He, like so many of their group, preferred the relative safety of the tunnels, and ventured topside only very occasionally – usually to track down Amy for the morning briefing. She couldn't blame him really. The surface was a dangerous place under Eggman's rule, especially for them. The Doctor would _love_ to get his hands on the last of Sonic's accomplices, thereby eradicating the only threat that remained to him.

Not that they provided _much_ of a threat, all things considered. They'd tried to fight before, and failed. None of them were eager to try again.

"Is Espio back yet?" she asked, climbing down the tunnel entrance – 'the rabbit hole', as they called this exit – and then waiting for Tails to follow.

Tails swung down beside her in one smooth, graceful motion. He brushed himself off before answering Amy's query. "Yep. Reported in this morning. About half an hour ago actually. He's getting cleaned up, but he said he'd drop in before the end of the meeting."

Amy nodded. That was good news – the first good news they'd had in weeks. She only hoped Espio's mission had been a success.

"Good," she said absently, mind already distant as she calculated her next move. "Tell everyone to convene in exactly an hour – that should give Espio some time to get organised."

"Gotcha," Tails affirmed, tapping a few buttons on his mechanical wrist.

Not only did his mechanised arm replace the limb he'd lost, but over time Tails had upgraded the appendage with every gadget he could possibly cram into it. It had a built in digital watch, all-purpose communicator, mini-database (the _de facto_ safest place to keep resistance secrets and information) and – the young kit's pride achievement – wifi, complete with hyper-encrypted internet access.

Given that Eggman carefully monitored all communications, the internet was a luxury the Resistance had previously been unable to afford. It was just too risky – what if Eggman tracked the signal? Even now, Amy was super strict on the matter, and would allow no one but Tails to even _attempt_ web surfing. And at that, it was only because they _needed_ the information to find more sources of food. It had saved them all more than once before.

"Where are you headed now?" Tails asked, though she could tell from the side glance he shot her that he already knew.

"To visit Cream," Amy said quietly. "Where else?"

-X-

The Eggman Revolution – as many only half-jokingly called it – had had particularly dire consequences for Amy's best friend, Cream the Rabbit. Unfortunately, along side Tails, Cream and her mother Vanilla had also been among the first to be apprehended and incarcerated in the Doctor's flying prison. And like with Tails, Amy couldn't find the courage to ask what had happened. It was like an unspoken rule; what happened aboard the Egg Carrier, stayed there.

Unlike Tails, however, Cream's experiences hadn't left any physical marks. She'd had injuries, yes, the same as the rest of them, but they'd been negligible; most had healed within a week, and none left scars. Cream's real wounds were deeper – psychological and emotional. And to the best of Amy's knowledge, they would never fully heal.

To look at her on a normal day, most people would never guess the extent of the damage Eggman had inflicted. But those who knew her, as Amy did, knew better.

She often had nightmares – more than once a week she would wake up screaming, terrified beyond rational thought. For that reason, Cream had her own 'cave' right next to the infirmary, but often Amy had to be called down to calm her in such instances. She suffered panic attacks too, but only when she was under a lot of stress; they weren't as frequent now, thankfully. The worst thing though, was her inability to completely grasp reality. In Cream's head, none of this was really happening. Sonic wasn't gone, the world wasn't in ruins, she'd never been a captive aboard Eggman's floating torture chamber. None of it was real to her.

Apparently, it was Cream's way of dealing with the situation. Her mind altered her perception of events to a more easily digestible alternative, with the result being that she believed... _something_ else. It wasn't clear exactly _what_ she believed, and Amy had been advised by their resident psychiatrist – who was probably about as qualified for the job as Amy herself was – that it was best not to push too much lest the illusion shatter and leave her friend a gibbering lunatic.

That said, apart from her steadfast denial of reality and the occasional meltdown, Cream was as fit and healthy as anyone living in their conditions could reasonably be expected to be. She did her part to keep the hive of the Resistance running, mainly by either assisting in the infirmary – as a 'nurse' of sorts – or by helping Tails run maintenance on their security systems. Surprisingly enough, Cream had rather a gift for technology, something Tails had been quietly nurturing in his own attempts to support their young friend. He had even let her work on his arm with him, and often let her take a hand in it's upkeep.

Amy tried to visit as often as she could, but with the management of the Resistance set squarely upon _her_ shoulders, it didn't happen often.

She traversed the twisting labyrinth of tunnels with long, confident strides, the route as familiar to her as her home in Station Square had once been. People nodded reverentially to her as she passed, a few even stopping her for a brief chat, their eyes – set in faces gaunt with malnutrition – bright with gratitude and admiration.

Somewhere along the line Amy had taken on the mantle of leader, not by choice but through necessity. Where many had fallen into despair in the advent of Eggman's takeover, she had busied herself with the practical matters – finding food, shelter, clean water... And once upon a time, before the realities of feeding so many became apparent, saving those who cold still be saved. She did what she could to supply the people – _her _people – with what they needed to survive, and for that she'd earned their undying respect and loyalty – even if her efforts weren't always enough to let them live in comfort.

She entered Cream's 'room' with a strained smile, pretending – as always – that all was right with the world. Another reason for Amy's infrequent visits with her best friend (and one she was less willing to own up to) was the need to act like _this_. It was painful, not to mention _exhausting,_ to shed more than seven years' worth of suffering and misery at the drop of a hat. Countless times in the past, Amy had debated with herself the benefits of going along with Cream's delusions. Weren't they just making things worse, humouring her like this? But of course she didn't dare do otherwise. She'd lost too much already to risk losing Cream too.

"Amy!" Cream squealed when she spotted her, overjoyed as she always was when the hedgehog visited. Abandoning the book she'd been reading – one of many Amy had brought back from her various raids – the rabbit launched herself and caught the older girl around the middle. "It's been so long!"

Amy felt a pang of guilt in her chest. Forcing it away, she beamed down at the person most important to her in the whole world and returned the hug with as much – if not more – fervour. As if she could heal Cream's mind with the power of her love alone.

"I know," she apologised, patting the teen's head between her long ears. Cream smiled up at her with eyes so wide and innocent and _happy_ that it hurt to look. "I've been... busy. But hey, I got you some new books the other day! You can come pick them up later if you like."

"Sure! Thanks, Amy. Have you had breakfast yet?"

Amy shook her head. "Not yet. I've got a meeting soon, but I have time for some berries if you have any?"

"Ohh, you always have a meeting," Cream sighed, disappointed.

Again Amy had to ignore a throb of remorse as she watched her friend collect a handful berries from a tupperware tub in the corner. Cream was the only individual in the whole Resistance with access to her own small store of food. Everyone else collected their rations from the kitchens (such as they were), with the exception of those who were too sick or frail to make the journey. It was something Amy – for all the undeniable selfishness of it – had insisted on. Given that she was the one _supplying_ the food more often than not, no one had thought to mention the unfairness of the arrangement.

"Is there any news?" Cream asked over her shoulder.

And just like that, any enjoyment Amy derived from the visit was immediately quashed by cold dread. Dread, and a sadness that ran soul deep.

"Not yet," she answered carefully, hoping to cut the by now familiar conversation short before it even started. She accepted the berries with a stiff nod and popped one into her mouth, buying time. Experience had taught her that there was no avoiding what would come next, but that didn't stop her trying... Hoping.

"I didn't think so," Cream said sadly, rolling one of her own berries between her thumb and forefinger. "Where could she _be_? Are you _sure_ Doctor Eggman doesn't have her? Maybe he picked her up when we got separated?"

Amy struggled to swallow past the lump in her throat. Suddenly, predictably, her appetite was gone.

The 'she' Cream was referring to was Vanilla Rabbit, and Amy knew _exactly_ where she was. Cream did too, but it was just one more fact lost in the abyss of her broken mind.

Vanilla – may her soul rest in peace – was buried in an unmarked grave over a thousand miles West of here. When they escaped the Egg Carrier, not everyone had made it back alive. Cream's mother... She'd made it to the deck, Amy remembered that much, but she got shot in the back before she could jump to safety. She'd died on the ground, in her wailing daughter's arms...

Feeling the tears start to brim, Amy harshly pushed the memories away. Having to bury Vanilla while Cream cried herself to sleep that night was one of the very worst experiences of her whole life, and she didn't like remembering it. She'd had to do the deed alone too – Tails had been too weak and delirious to offer anything in the way of help, and they'd gotten separated from the others when the Carrier's security doors kicked in.

"No," Amy forced herself to say, voice hoarse. "We'd have heard by now if Eggman had her."

"Hm. Then I... I guess... she must have been taken in by another resistance group..." the young rabbit said vaguely, eyes becoming distant. Amy recognised that look; she was on the brink of remembering. Or at least, she sensed something was missing and couldn't figure out what it was.

To excuse herself from answering, Amy shovelled the last of the berries into her mouth. She couldn't tell Cream the truth – that there _were_ no other resistance groups – because it might break her for good. But she didn't want to lie either. Sometimes it was best to just say nothing at all.

Several minutes passed in tense silence. And then, without warning, Cream's expression cleared and she was back to herself. She didn't mention her mother again. Instead they discussed other things – unimportant things, like books and clothes and the new security cameras Tails wanted to put up.

The hour passed quickly, and when it was time to leave Amy enfolded Cream in a hug that was a little too tight.

"Don't stay away so long next time," Cream whispered.

Knowing already that it was a promise she couldn't keep, Amy nodded. "I'll try."

-X-

**So here it is at last. The second instalment and the first official 'chapter'. Took a bit longer than anticipated – my laptop died, my sister got married and I've just started a new job – but better late than never, eh?**

**Anyway, there's a lot of information here, but don't worry about it too much – all will become clear as the story unfolds.**

**Also, thank you kindly to all who followed, favourited and reviewed. I love hearing from you guys, and knowing that someone is enjoying my hard work. **


	3. In Motion

_Three Days Prior_

Sonic's awakening was not a gentle one.

He came to surrounded by broken glass, covered from head to foot in a fine grey powder, like ash or dust. His head throbbed, his arms and legs ached, and his only coherent thoughts were of food and water. When he moved shards of glass bit into his skin, which was inexplicably sensitive and tingled with pins and needles from head to foot.

Using the little energy he possessed to drag himself away from the debris, Sonic propped himself against a nearby wall. After that, it was all he could do to stay upright.

Memories from 'before' – a broad term in Sonic's mind that roughly translated to 'everything pre- this exact moment' – jumbled together in an indistinct, multicoloured haze. He struggled to remember something solid – something _clear_ – but the effort was too much, and he soon fell into a deep recuperative sleep.

His second awakening, by comparison, was must more pleasant. Though still hungry and _desperately_ thirsty (the need for water felt like a physical burn in his throat), his limbs and head didn't hurt as much. He was able to stand, and – with a little coaxing – walk. Disconcertingly, he still couldn't remember anything; even less than after his first return to consciousness truth be told, and nothing that explained his current predicament. Any concentrated effort to bring the fleeting images in his head into focus only made Sonic feel nauseous, so he decided to put such worries aside for the time being.

A glance around at his surroundings revealed that he was in the dilapidated remains of a laboratory. The glass he'd woken on earlier looked to be the shattered remnants of a huge tube, very similar to the ones Eggman famously used. The tube – or what was left of it – dominated the small room, surrounded on three sides by blinking mechanical consoles and on the fourth by a wall of sheer concrete.

It didn't take a genius to guess what – or rather, _who_ – had been in the tube.

"Eggman..." Sonic muttered, voice hoarse from misuse. This had his rival's name written all over it.

A quick tour around the place left the hedgehog in no doubt. Only two people in the whole world could come up with gadgetry this complex, and of those only one had any reason to want Sonic as a lab rat.

Unlike most of Eggman's secret labs this one seemed to be underground, judging by the air quality and the strong smell of earth. Clearly the Doc hadn't wanted anyone to find it, which made a change considering some of his previous hideouts. Apparently he'd learned a lesson in subtlety.

_That could be a problem_, Sonic reflected. Part of what made dealing with the Doctor so easy was his flair for the dramatic. If he started hiding his bases in less obvious locations, Sonic might actually have a challenge on his hands.

But that was a problem for another time. Right now, he just wanted to get out of here.

A more thorough circuit of the room revealed no obvious ways out, which probably meant – to Sonic's dismay – that he would have to fiddle with the machines; something that had literally blown up in his face in the past. He didn't have the energy to spindash out, which would've been his preferred method of escape, even for as undeniably reckless as it was (who knew how deep this place ran?). If he turned on a security system or, God forbid, activated a self-destruct sequence, he would die down here.

_A pleasant thought... _

Knowing it might be the last thing he ever did, Sonic pressed a button at random then flinched back in expectation. Something beeped, and for a heart-stopping moment he thought he'd done it – activated an explosion that would blow him and the underground lab sky high. He curled in a protective ball, spines stiff, waiting...

Nothing happened.

Sonic frowned. He tried another with the same results – or rather, lack thereof.

He sighed. "This might take a while..."

Several hours and countless buttons later, and Sonic had still had no joy in uncovering an exit. He was growing worried. What if Eggman hadn't built a way out at all? What if it had been his intention to leave him down here forever? It certainly sounded like something the madman would come up with. And what then? Would he have to die down here, alone, starving and thirsty? Was Eggman _that_ cruel?

Frustrated, he gave the nearest console a kick.

And _finally, _something happened.

With a series of mechanical whirs the controls parted right down the middle, sliding to either side with a smooth pneumatic hiss. From between the plates rose a tube, very similar to the one that must have held _him_, though much smaller and connected by electrodes to a tangle of wires. Inside the tube was...

"A Chaos Emerald!" Sonic gasped in delight.

Glowing gently, the white emerald floated in place, it's weight sustained by it's own limitless power. In that moment, Sonic doubted he'd ever seen anything half so beautiful. Small as it was, that emerald was his ticket to the surface. He would use Chaos Control to teleport out – he'd done it before, so he could do it again.

Already drawing on the emerald's power to bolster his strength, Sonic smashed the glass tube and plucked the gem from it's centre. It was warm to the touch. A wave of comfort and confidence washed through him instantly, relaxing muscles he hadn't known were stiff to begin with. Things would be okay now. He would be okay.

With a grin – his first since waking up – Sonic tossed the emerald into the air and caught it.

"Thanks Egghead," he smirked. "_Chaos Control!_"

-X-

_Present_

By the time Amy entered the conference room, everybody else was already there. A hush descended as she brushed past the curtain – the only form of separation between rooms they had down here – and with an effort she schooled her expression into one of business.

Tails gave her a nod and a wave from the opposite side of the table (which was really just a few planks of half-rotted timber balanced on some crates). Everyone else watched her with something akin to awe. Even amongst old friends and fellow 'actives' – that is, those members of the resistance who still took an interest in their future, hopeless as it might seem – Amy had earned herself quite a respectable reputation. When she spoke, people listened, and it was no different today.

She cleared her throat, looking around at the handful of people who'd joined her today. Anyone was free to join in their meetings. Few people ever did.

"Is that everyone?" she asked Tails, who was – for all accounts and purposes – the book keeper for these meetings. He knew everything that went on in the resistance, and he knew (_somehow_) who would turn up to meetings and who wouldn't.

"Yep. Me, you, Espio, Charmy, Professor Pickle, Moira, Jayce and Li." He gestured around the room. "All here."

Amy frowned. "What about Rouge?"

"She's, uh, having another one of her turns."

"Darrell and Quinn?"

"Still in the infirmary after the last raid." Tails shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, but this is it today."

She sighed. It was bad enough they'd lost more than half their actives in the last three years to fear and hopelessness; now they were losing members to carelessness and mood swings. If this kept up they'd have no choice but to conscript people to go on raids – it was the only way to ensure enough food for everyone.

Well, no sense worrying about that now. They had work to do and a quota to fill.

"All right," she said wearily. "Let's get on with it then." She turned to their resident ninja and nodded a belated greeting. "Welcome back, Espio. I'm glad you made it back safe."

"Thank you. It's good to be back."

As usual there was very little inflection in his voice. If he truly _was_ happy to be back, it certainly didn't show. For as long as she'd known him, Espio had never been one for conversation – he was a trained ninja, and quiet by default. But since they lost Vector early last year, the chameleon had been_ extra _quiet. He insisted the change would have no bearing on his work, and batted aside any questions more personal than that, but Amy had to wonder... Clearly he was still grieving, and just a month ago he'd come within a hair's breadth of getting arrested by a squadron of Egg Pawns.

Such clumsiness was out of character.

"Es says he has big news for us this time," Tails said. He held his mechanical arm out and typed something in the small touch screen. A second later a hologram filtered into view above his hand. "This is Mercat City, the site of Espio's last mission. You wanna tell them, Es?"

Espio nodded and Tails fiddled with the projection.

"The city is roughly half a day's journey from here." As he spoke, the hologram zoomed in, giving them all a perfect view of the ruins the city had become. "There were few signs of life, suggesting it has been deserted for some time. However, further inspection revealed locked stores under the shopping centre in this area here," he pointed to a huge domed shopping complex on the hologram, "and the supermarket here." Another jab at the virtual image.

"Is there food in them?" Amy asked dubiously. Half a day's journey on foot was quite the trek, and from what she remembered of the landscape out that way, it was mostly flat and open. She didn't want to risk such a perilous jaunt unless the reward was guaranteed to be worth the effort.

"Probably not," Moira put in, flicking her long red hair over her shoulder. She was the only female human active they had left, and had been with them since day one. With more successful raids under her belt than all the guys put together, Amy had developed a healthy respect for the woman. "We've been down this road before; there aren't any shops with anything worth taking these days."

They'd established a long time ago that between having already been plundered and the food spoiling, abandoned shops and markets were unreliable sources of food at best. That hadn't been so in the beginning, but they'd all known that sooner or later they'd have to think of something else. That was why Espio was frequently sent out on scouting missions – if there was another way to procure food, he'd find it, and he'd be the safest one doing it thanks to his camouflage abilities.

"Be that as it may, we don't have the luxury of ignoring the possibility," Professor Pickle said glumly. "At the last count, we only had enough stores to last another two weeks – and _only_ if we reduce rations by another quarter."

"No!" Amy objected instantly. "People are starving as it is – we can't reduce the rations any more than we already have."

"In which case we have four days."

The room fell quiet while each of them weighed that in their minds. Four days... It wasn't much.

"Do _you_ think there's food in them, Espio?" Li asked softly. The Asian man seldom spoke, but when he did it was usually to ask the questions no one else had thought of. Amy couldn't even imagine where they might be if not for Li's level-headedness over the years.

Espio shrugged. "I cannot be certain. I didn't have the strength to force my way inside, but given their location I would say the odds are heartening."

All eyes turned to Amy.

The pink hedgehog thought for a moment, drumming her fingers on the tabletop. It was a tough call. If Espio thought there was a good chance of food, there probably was. He had an instinct for these things, a kind of sense about them. They'd taken gambles on his word before and been rewarded for them. Still...

Half a day over open terrain... They'd be sitting ducks.

"Hmm. I'll think about it." At the very least it was an option if nothing more attractive turned up. "Okay, next on the agenda is-,"

"There's something else," Espio interrupted. He shared a glance with Charmy – the only person he would talk about anything other than business with – then opened the worn messenger bag he took with him on missions. After a bit of rummaging, he placed something on the table.

Time froze.

Amy studied the item long and hard, her face impassive. Dimly, she heard Tails suck in a sharp breath. Jayce – one of their newer actives, and the youngest – whispered something to Moira, and while she caught the words (just barely) Amy could neither confirm nor deny them. She dared not even _think_, for fear of what it might mean.

"This..." she said at last, the words coming past numb lips. "This changes things..."

-X-

**Not much happening in this chapter, I'll admit, but hang in there – the next chapter's where things really get going.**


	4. Crossroads

_This is ridiculous, _Amy told herself, creeping up Senna Boulevard. _All this way, all this** risk**, and for what? We shouldn't be here. This is a waste of time!_

When Espio had lain his find before them almost two days ago, the meeting room had erupted. What could it mean, they all wondered, and none more so than Amy herself. Arguments had ensued and carried on well into the night, and even now – with the decision made – Amy wasn't able to decide which side she came down on.

In the end it had been Tails who decided. Quiet throughout most of the fighting, when Amy asked what he thought they should do, he'd said simply, "Go."

That was it. One word, filled to the brim with pain, hope, and dread all at once.

Amy knew exactly how he felt.

She looked at the thing once more, held tightly in a hand damp with sweat. She hadn't been able to put it down since they got it, and she couldn't find the strength to do so now. Pretty silly of her, considering it was totally and utterly useless. A single quill, long, thin as a hair and admirably sharp. But for all that, it still wasn't much use as a weapon – never mind anything else.

_But it's **blue**._

And it was _that_ – the familiar cobalt hue of it – that kept Amy from being able to throw it away. It was it's colour that had kept Tails from being able to disregard it too, she knew. In fact, the fact that it was blue was the reason they were here at all. If it had been any other colour... if it had even been a slightly different blue...

But it wasn't. And so here they were searching high and low in a city of dust for...

...What? Just what was it they hoped to find? Sonic was dead. Amy _believed_ he was dead.

She hoped he was dead.

If he wasn't... Well, it changed everything didn't it? If he was alive, it meant he'd purposefully abandoned them for _seven years_. If he'd been around, none of this would have happened. Tails wouldn't have lost his arm, Vanilla and so many others would still be alive, Cream wouldn't be broken... The resistance wouldn't be clinging to survival every day.

And one way or the other, there was only one person to blame. But somehow, it hurt less to think he'd died because of her. The alternative was unbearable.

"He wouldn't do that to us," she told herself for the hundredth time. She needed to hear it aloud, to hear the words and know – just _know_ – they were true. "He wouldn't have let things end like this if he could've done anything about it." And if he couldn't, it logically followed that he must be dead. Nothing else would've stopped him. _Nothing_.

Her radio crackled, and Moira's voice came through. "I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm not seeing anything here, fellas. No sign of our boy in blue in the shopping district."

Moira had been one of the ones against the venture. Not only did she – like Amy – think they were chasing either a ghost or a traitor (a waste no matter how you sliced it, she'd insisted), but she didn't have much faith in the food stores Espio had mentioned either.

"Park's clear," came Charmy's voice, sounding disappointed. No prizes for guessing where Charmy had stood in the debate.

Amy unhooked her radio from her shorts. "Nothing on my end either. Espio, Jayce?"

"Nope."

"Negative."

She took a deep breath, not sure whether she was crestfallen or relieved. A glance at the sky told her they had about an hour, maybe less, of daylight left. They'd already wasted enough time on what was obviously a fruitless venture, but there was little point getting started on the stores. From what Espio had told them, getting in was going to be tough and Amy didn't like the idea of working in the dark.

"Okay. Do one last round then meet up in the park. We'll start on the stores tomorrow."

Clicking off, she returned the radio to her shorts and proceeded back down the boulevard. She should have known it was a wild goose chase. So much time lost chasing the ghosts of the past. They'd better pray there was food in those stores – they only had two days left before the rations ran dry, and their meagre underground crop plantation wouldn't be ready to harvest for months.

Rounding the corner into a smaller street, Amy sighed wistfully. Most of her was relieved, she decided. Sonic hadn't left them to their fate deliberately.

Still...

They might have had a chance, if he wasstill alive. Maybe they could have fought back; finally wrested the world back from Eggman's dirty hands.

_No, _her inner voice said softly. _This world can't be fixed by one hedgehog. Even if that hedgehog **is** Sonic._

-X-

The world was a mess.

Since using the Chaos Emerald to escape what he was now convinced was supposed to be his tomb, Sonic had spent a lot of time exploring a planet he no longer recognised. Where once he was certain there had been buzzing cities, there were now eerie, uninhabited ruins. Whole villages seemed to have simply ceased to exist, and great stretches of forest and countryside had been all but annihilated by pollution. The few patches of healthy wildlife he'd found had grown into jungles so thick, Sonic had been forced to slow to a jog to navigate them.

But the landscape wasn't the worst of it.

There were no people _anywhere_. No matter where he went, how far he ran, Sonic couldn't find any trace of human presence. Naturally, the same went for not-so-human presence, and when he eventually returned to the city he'd woken in (because where else was he supposed to go?) his thoughts were full of the friends he was no longer sure he had.

What had _happened _while he'd been in that lab?

Doubtless this was Eggman's doing. He hadn't found the Doctor yet either, but he would. There were still places he hadn't been yet. This was a big planet after all, and if he was honest, he'd been too busy trying to wrap his mind around his home's sorry state to put much effort into looking for the Doc.

And there was something else that bothered him too.

On his travels, he hadn't come across any more Chaos Emeralds. Hadn't even picked up the faintest signal of one, which was odd considering the distance he'd covered. That could only mean one thing – the Emeralds were all together, or at least close to each other, and far enough away that his own Emerald couldn't detect them. And if the shambles around him were anything to go by, he didn't think it was the good guys that had them. Assuming, of course, that there were any good guys left.

"This is a nightmare," Sonic muttered, staring into the depths of his Emerald as if it somehow held the answers. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Stowing the gem in his protective quills, he made his way to the exact spot he'd landed in when he teleported out of the lab – a four-way intersection that used to be surrounded by skyscrapers, before whatever Eggman had done had more or less levelled them. It suited his mood. Four roads, all leading to nothing and nowhere.

A bit like his options.

-X-

They ate a supper of dried beef and beans around a fire that sent sinister shadows skittering across the parched grass. No one spoke, mainly because there was nothing to say. They'd wasted a whole day, looking for something that couldn't be found, and Amy for one was feeling incredibly foolish for it.

_We should have been working on the stores,_ she scolded herself, tearing a strip off her beef. _Not hunting the dead. _She tried not to think about the fact that the beef she was eating was from their last cow.

It didn't work.

A couple of years back Espio had brought them word of a small herd of cattle wandering the parched wildernesses to the far east of the 'rabbit hole'. There had even been a bull, underfed and sickly though it was. With more actives back then, they'd been able to mount an operation to bring them back to the tunnels, where Tails and Professor Pickle had immediately set about breeding them and trying to establish a farm of sorts. Things had been good for a while, but it quickly became apparent that without proper nutrition, it was practically impossible for the cows bear healthy calves. The bull hadn't lasted long anyway, and while they'd tried to be sparing with the cows, it was inevitable they'd run out eventually.

And now they had.

What were they going to do, Amy wondered, if they didn't find food tomorrow? They might – _might_ – be able to squeeze some sustenance from the forest that grew over the Northern half of the tunnels... But the very fact that it grew atop the tunnels meant the woods were sparse and weak, with hardly any edible plants and even less game. She was wary of over-foraging such a frail food source in case they permanently destroyed it. Better to to tread carefully, and leave enough to ensure growth the following year.

_But it won't be enough..._

The bitter truth was, even if they stripped it down to it's roots, there wasn't enough in that paltry forest to feed everyone for long.

"There's _never_ enough," she muttered, inexplicably angry all of a sudden. It wasn't fair... Why did life have to be a _constant_ struggle all the time?

"What's that, hon?" Moira asked, generous chest jiggling as she fed the fire more dried grass (unfortunately the best kindling they could find on such short notice).

Amy glanced up, startled out of her trance.

Apparently, Moira had been a model before the world fell down around their ears. Amy could certainly see why. She had a certain exotic beauty about her – heart-shaped face; skin as soft and delicate as a peach; attractive almond eyes that were such an exquisite shade of brown, they bordered on amber. And her hair! It seemed ridiculous to be envious of a woman's hair when there were much more important things to worry about, but Moira's hair was just _unreal_. Thick and wavy and a dark copper-red that shone no matter the lighting... It was beautiful. Spectacular even. Poor nutrition had stolen most of her curves, but it wasn't hard to imagine she'd once been a shapely woman too.

But it wasn't just that. Moira was _gorgeous_, there was no doubt, but it was her confidence that made her model material, not her looks. Her confidence and her quiet sense of strength. She was a woman who demanded respect, and often got it. Even Amy – who truly respected so few people these days – admired her. If they'd had more people like Moira in the resistance, Amy thought they could've probably taken Eggman without Sonic.

Probably.

"Nothing," Amy said, returning most of her rations – untouched – to the team's communal rucksack. She just couldn't bring herself to eat when she knew that soon the resistance might need every last morsel they could get. "Just thinking."

Moira noted the uneaten food and raised what would once have been a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Not hungry?"

"Not really," Amy lied.

The ex-model looked like she wanted to say something else, but changed her mind at the last second and instead returned to tending the fire. Amy was grateful for that. She didn't feel like justifying herself tonight – she already got enough flack from Tails for not eating properly.

"I think I'll go for a walk," she said at length, when another hour passed in sombre silence. It had been a long day, and she wanted to sort through her jumbled feelings before tomorrow came and they had to get back to business.

She still hadn't thrown the blue quill away.

Jayce stood, stretching muscled arms above his head and making several joints crack in quick succession. He was just sixteen, an orphan, and had adapted to the resistance's way of life as few others had. The lack of food had done little to stunt his growth, and when he'd joined the actives last year he'd confided that he'd spent most of the years before training for just that purpose. Enthusiastic and cocksure, Jayce tended to be the life of their group.

He also idolised Sonic. Of all of them, Jayce had been the most excited by Espio's discovery.

Maybe it was because he reminded her of him, but Amy was inclined to be a little cold towards Jayce. It wasn't his fault, and she knew she was being unfair... But whenever he grinned or spouted some cocky line or called her _Ames,_ she remembered Sonic and how he wasn't around when they needed him most. It didn't matter that he was dead; that was just how she felt.

"I'll come with, Ames," he offered, unintentionally making chills of irritation march up her spine. "I could use the exercise."

"That's Amy," she corrected, trying to keep her tone friendly. "And that's okay. I kinda want to be alone."

Jayce frowned, puzzling over the idea that anyone would _want_ to be alone. As an orphan, it wasn't a concept he was familiar with. He opened his mouth to protest, but Charmy – who was close friends with the human boy – put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

Satisfied she wouldn't be followed, Amy stalked away from the warm circle of the fire and into the bowels of the dead city.

When she was far enough away that she knew she wouldn't be seen, she took the quill out and studied it closely. It was funny... It looked _so_ much like his. Like Sonic's. And for a while, she'd almost started to want... to _hope_...

Her breath escaped her in a harsh laugh.

_Stupid_..._ You want him dead, you want him alive... You can't have both._

Tossing the quill aside – and ignoring the pang of loss in doing so – Amy continued through the city at a leisurely pace. The stars were breathtaking without the city lights to dim them, and the longer she looked, the more at peace she felt. Eggman had taken everything else, but this... He couldn't take this. Small comfort, but comfort nonetheless.

Sonic was gone. It was as simple and as complicated as that. If they spent too long looking at the past, they weren't going to have a future. Sonic... wouldn't want that.

"... Sonic..." she whispered. _Fool_.

It was the first time she'd said his name aloud in _years_. She didn't quite know why she'd said it now, of all times, but it felt like a weight off her shoulders that she hadn't known was there. She closed her eyes and shook her head, smiling wistfully. At least, she reasoned, there was no one around to hear it.

Or so she thought.

"A... _Amy_? Is that _you_?"

Amy froze, heart stuttering in a chest that suddenly felt like it was going to explode.

The voice – _that horribly, wonderfully familiar voice_ – had come from behind her. She'd been so distracted that she hadn't heard anyone approach, something she berated herself for in some distant corner of her mind, while the rest of her tried control an unexpected tide of pure emotion.

She turned slowly, muscles stiff and unresponsive.

And promptly felt her entire world break apart all over again.

-X-

**I'm trying to think of something appropriate to put as an author note to tie up this chapter, but honestly, I think it speaks for itself.**

**Sorry I took so long guys. In case it isn't already obvious, I'm not a fast updater in general – but take heart, for I WILL finish this story. No matter what. I've also decided to post progress updates on my profile, along with estimated update times, so if ever you start to wonder what the hold up is, look there. Any roadblocks and such will be detailed, if any should arise.**

**Thank you all for reading and being so patient with me. **


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